We're still more than a year away from Marc Webb's reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, but The Hollywood Reporter already has some news about the proposed sequel with the announcement that James Vanderbilt will be returning as screenwriter.

Vanderbilt, whose credits also include Darkness Falls, Zodiac and The Losers, supplied the initial draft of the upcoming film (and was involved with the project when it was still a fourth part in Sam Raimi's cinematic series).

Though The Amazing Spider-Man was subsequently updated by Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves, Sony clearly has a great deal of faith in Vanderbilt's abilities and looks prepped to get a sequel to Webb's film going as quickly as possible, following its July 3, 2012 release.

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are coming on board to work on the screenplay for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Sony Pictures announced today. They will also receive Executive Producer credits.

The first draft for May 2, 2014 release was written by James Vanderbilt. Production is tentatively scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2013 on the next "Spider-Man" film.

Producer Matt Tolmach said: "Alex and Bob have a unique ability to write great character and spectacular action that makes them pitch perfect for Spider-Man. They've been friends of ours for a long time and they have an exciting take on the franchise – we're thrilled to have them join the Spider-Man family."

Producer Avi Arad added: "It's a thrill to have Alex and Bob put their stamp on this franchise that we all love so well. They have an innate understanding of what makes Peter Parker not just a superhero, but a hero for all of us."

Kurtzman and Orci said: "We grew up as huge Spider-Man fans so, to us, the opportunity to work on this film is akin to being handed the Holy Grail. We love the direction Sony and the filmmakers are taking the Peter Parker/Spider-Man mythology and we couldn't be more excited to be a part of this legendary franchise."

The first film, The Amazing Spider-Man, opens in theaters this summer on July 3.

Together for over eighteen years, creative collaborators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have established themselves as one of the leading writing/producing teams working in film and television.

This June, the duo will release People Like Us for Disney, which will mark the directorial debut of Alex Kurtzman. The film, starring Elizabeth Banks and Chris Pine, is written by Kurtzman & Orci and Jody Lambert. They are also in production on Ender's Game and Now You See Me, both of which will be released by Summit in 2013. They are also producing and scripting a second installment of Star Trek with Damon Lindelof and All You Need is Kill, starring Tom Cruise and directed by Doug Liman. Erwin Stoff serves as producer of the film which is set up at Warner Bros.

In 2011, Kurtzman & Orci released the comic book adaptation of Cowboys & Aliens, which they wrote with scribe Damon Lindelof as well as produced. That same year, they signed a three-year overall television deal with 20th Century Fox. This latest TV development season the duo have set up pilots at the FOX, CBS, and ABC Networks, adding to their ever-growing television slate, a list that includes CBS's "Hawaii Five-O," Fox's "Fringe," and The Hub's "Transformers: Prime."

Kurtzman and Orci's writing credits include Star Trek, Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Eagle Eye and Mission: Impossible III. They also executive-produced the romantic comedy hit, The Proposal.

Kurtzman and Orci began their career writing for the popular television series "Hercules" and "Xena: Warrior Princess," where they quickly became head writers at the age of 23. Next, they wrote for J.J. Abrams' "Alias," and eventually served as executive producers on the show.

Fans of big summer genre movies will already know the name of Alex Kurtzman, probably when paired with his long-time collaborator Bob Orci on movies like Transformers, Star Trek, the television shows "Fringe" and "Hawaii Five-O." This summer, he's making his directorial debut with a terrific character drama called People Like Us, though just four days later, it faces Sony Pictures' The Amazing Spider-Man as it slams into theaters. It's somewhat ironic since Alex and Bob recently signed on to write the sequel to that anticipated superhero reboot.

We had been wondering why these guys, who have been writing and producing a lot of their own original ideas and material in recent years, became so interested in joining a licensed franchise character like Spider-Man, which would mean going back to their days of "Transformers" and working with a lot of different cooks.

He responded by paying a great compliment to the upcoming film's director, Marc Webb, who SuperHeroHype recently interviewed:

"We jumped on (it) because we were so impressed with the movie and what Marc Webb has done with the movie," Kurtzman told us in an interview earlier today. "I just adore Matt Tolmach, who is the producer of the movie, and everyone at Sony has been so supportive of us. We felt really good about it and really passionate about it. When you're growing up, if you're a superhero lover, it's like Batman, Spider-Man and Superman are the holy trinity of superheroes, so the opportunity to get involved with any one of those is like you get to let your kid play again."

"We're exec. producing as well and they've been very generous about letting us be involved with the process," he continued. "But certainly what we don't want to do is step on any toes and we're really just there because we love Spider-Man so much."

That sequel is already scheduled for the summer of 2014, but Kurtzman and Orci are also producing two anticipated sci-fi movies coming out in 2013, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek sequel (scheduled for May 17) and a movie based on Orson Scott Card's hugely-popular Ender's Game (scheduled for November).

Many people are wondering why J.J.'s movie isn't being brought to Comic-Con considering that it was the cast's introduction at the annual San Diego geekfest that got fans so excited about the original 2009 movie in the first place. There's no conspiracy though and part of why it's not going to be there is because they just wrapped shooting, as Kurtzman told us:

"Here's the thing about Trek. Part of why we delayed a year was because we didn't want to rush it, just because we feel very beholden to the franchise and we feel very protective of it and the worst thing we can do is to put it out there before we felt like we were ready and we were still working on the story."

There's almost as many eyes and as much interest on what they're planning for Ender's Game, since Card's book is so beloved by sci-fi fans, and Kurtzman helped to alleviate any concerns.

"We're certainly huge fans of the book, too, so I think we felt extremely protective of it," he said. "I know that Gavin Hood, our director, really felt protective of it, and he wrote a beautiful script. Orson came in and gave us his blessing, which I think was a huge, huge thing for all of us."

You can look for more with Kurtzman talking about his new movie People Like Us over on ComingSoon.net sometime before its release on June 29.

When SuperHeroHype spoke with producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach last week, the latter was non-commital about how many movies may follow this week's The Amazing Spider-Man despite already having a sequel in the process of being written.

As Tolmach told us:

"We knew that it was going to be more than one, and at the very least three. We're going to let this movie tell us what the story is."

But now the official Facebook page seems to have decided they may as well go ahead and make another trilogy.

As stated in a post on Monday:

"It's finally here! The Amazing Spider-Man is the first installment in a movie TRILOGY that will explore how our fave hero's journey was shaped by the disappearance of his parents."

That capitalization of the word "trilogy" was our own, because even though Sony has already committed to a sequel before The Amazing Spider-Man opened, scheduling it for May 2, 2014, and even offered a potential tease in the end credits scene, there was no guarantee that having two movies would warrant a third. (Case in point: Nicolas Cage's Ghost Rider movies.)

Another sign that a sequel was definitely going to happen was Marvel Studios' recent decision to move their scheduled and still unconfirmed mid-May 2014 release to early August. Presumably that's to give Sony Pictures a bit more room with the Spider-Man sequel and a little more breathing space for their own Captain America sequel, which is being released in early April 2014.

There's still no word on whether director Marc Webb will direct one or more movies or if Sony Pictures will be looking for another director to take the helm.

It should come as no surprise that two of this summer's biggest movies The Amazing Spider-Man and Men In Black 3 are already getting the sequel talk.

While The Amazing Spider-Man's sequel already had a confirmed release date of May 2, 2014, Columbia Pictures Chief Doug Belgrad was asked by THR if Marc Webb will return to direct: "We'd really like him back, but there are obstacles. He has an obligation to Fox. [Webb owes Fox a post-(500) Days of Summer film.]"

The topic then shifted to Men In Black 3, which at this point has grossed $615 million worldwide: "We're very pleased with the financial performance of Men in Black 3, and we believe it is an ongoing franchise. We're going to do [another one], but we don't have clarity yet on how it should be done."

What do you think? Want a Men In Black 4? Worried that Marc Webb won't be back for The Amazing Spider-Man sequel?

Andrew Garfield will return to the role of Peter Parker and Marc Webb is set to direct as Columbia Pictures prepares to begin production on the next installment of The Amazing Spider-Man, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of production for the studio. The screenplay is by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner based on a previous draft by James Vanderbilt. The film will be produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach. The new chapter in the Spider-Man saga is set for release in 3D on May 2, 2014.

Emma Stone is also in talks to return to the blockbuster franchise and is expected to reprise her role as Gwen Stacy.

The new film will begin production in early 2013. Webb, Garfield and Stone previously teamed on this summer's blockbuster The Amazing Spider-Man, which has taken in more than $751 million worldwide.

Commenting on the announcement, Belgrad said, "We could not be more confident in the direction we are taking this new Spider-Man storyline and we are tremendously excited to be ramping up production again with Marc at the helm and Andrew continuing on as Peter Parker. We can’t wait to share what we have in store for Peter and Spider-Man with audiences worldwide."

The Descendants star Shailene Woodley is up for the role of Mary Jane Watson in Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Variety reports. What's more, they report that the studio is also casting the part of Harry Osborn and that Electro is currently rumored to be the film's villain.

Andrew Garfield is confirmed to return for the May 2, 2014 release and Emma Stone is a near-certainty as well. This time around, the script arrives from Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner and James Vanderbilt.

Mary Jane is best known to cinematic spider-fans for appearing in Sam Raimi's original trilogy, played by Kirsten Dunst. In the comics, she and Peter Parker are eventually married, although the marriage was, some years ago, magically undone and removed from continuity.

Harry Osborn, too, appears in Raimi's films, played by James Franco. In the comics, Osborn is the son of Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe in Raimi's films) and carries forth in his father's footsteps to become the second Green Goblin.

Electro, meanwhile, has never definitively appeared on the big screen, though some fan speculation has suggested that the mysterious figure (played by Michael Massee) featured in The Amazing Spider-Man's end credits was, in fact, our first look at the character. First appearing in 1964's "The Amazing Spider-Man" #9, Electro's real name is Max Dillon and he has the power to control electricity.

Though we're still waiting on official word from Sony, THR is reporting that Shailene Woodley has booked the role of Mary Jane in the upcoming sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Not only are they confirming her being cast in the role, but they've also got details on what she'll be up to in the sequel: The Mary Jane role is proving to be only a very small part in Amazing Spider-Man 2 but blossoms into an integral lead for the planned third movie as the studio seeks to build to the classic "Death of Gwen Stacy" story.

Andrew Garfield is confirmed to return for the May 2, 2014 release and Emma Stone is a near-certainty as well. This time around, the script arrives from Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner and James Vanderbilt.

Jamie Foxx, who soon headlines Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, is up for a major role in Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2.Variety has the news and, while they're only able to confirm so far that Foxx would play a villain, they're maintaining that rumors point to that character being Electro.

Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Shailene Woodley are attached to star in the May 2, 2014 release. This time around, the script arrives from Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner and James Vanderbilt.

Electro has never definitively appeared on the big screen, though some fan speculation has suggested that the mysterious figure (played by Michael Massee) featured in The Amazing Spider-Man's end credits was, in fact, our first look at the character. First appearing in 1964's "The Amazing Spider-Man" #9, Electro's real name is Max Dillon and he has the power to control electricity.

Although he's still unable to officially confirm today's report that Jamie Foxx will play Electro in his upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man sequel, director Marc Webb spoke today at a press event for next week's DVD and Blu-ray release of the first film and was more than willing to tiptoe around the issue.

"I think Jamie Foxx is electrifying!" Webb laughed when asked if the actor would, indeed, appear in the sequel. "I think Jamie Foxx is one of the best actors around today. He's such a great character actor and he's a really brilliant guy. I would love to work with him and you'll be hearing more on that shortly, I'm sure."

When asked what other Spider-Man characters he was particularly fond of, Webb again mentioned Max Dillon's electrically charged alter ego.

"I like Electro," Webb smiled. "I'm fascinated by Norman Osborn and the different inflections of him. And Harry. Mary Jane and Gwen are always interesting to me."

It's been confirmed that Shailene Woodley will be playing the role of Mary Jane Watson and early reports suggest that casting is now underway for Harry Osborn as well. Teased in the first film, it's very possible that Webb named the elder Osborn because we'll also be seeing him on the big screen in 2014.

Regardless of what villain or villains appear, Webb says that the most important trait of the sequel's big bad is a personal connection to Spider-Man himself.

"What makes villains interesting to me is what they bring out in Peter," Webb explained. "What challenges they provide for him. What's great about Marvel and other comics is that often there's a pre-existing relationship... It's not just about the physical conflict he has, but the emotional ones as well."

Ultimately, though, the sequel offers Webb a clean slate to take Spider-Man to places he's never been before on the big screen.

"What's exciting about moving forward is that, in the first movie, I had to still honor some of the important elements of the origin story," Webb says. "But I also wanted to redefine the context of it because I'm building a different universe than what we've seen before. A lot of the nuance is quite different. Now, as we're approaching the sequel, it's really exciting because I feel quite liberated. I have a universe that's my own. I don't have an obligation to the origin story. It's pretty fun and exciting and I can dig deeper into the parents."

As the sequel gears up for production, Webb says he's already had conversations about the viral marketing and that he's certain the sequel will offer as in-depth an ARG as the first film did. He also teased that the sequel may feature some scenes shot specifically for IMAX.

Check back soon for video interviews with Webb and the special effects artist behind The Amazing Spider-Man. The film itself arrives on DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D on November 9.

The Amazing Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield is ready for the sequel. Garfield was on The Ellen DeGeneres Show this week (video below) and he confirmed that the sequel will begin production in February.

Also, in an interview with E!, Garfield spoke about where he wants the sequel to go: "I feel really excited, I feel like we got over a hump with our first one," he said, "We had to reinstate the character, and we had to reinvigorate an audience to the character. And I hope to bring more of this theme—the theme of the orphan. I wanna keep exploring that theme of being fatherless, being motherless, searching for purpose and finding a purpose within himself, being a self-made man, I guess."

In case you think differently, Garfield takes his role as Spider-Man very seriously: "It is a responsibility to play that role, and I don't take it lightly. I think there's so much to explore with that mythology and within the tension between living a double life, struggling with being good, struggling with choosing good behavior over bad behavior, with the pressures of a city on your shoulders."

Garfield confirmed with Ellen that the film is already into pre-production, which could explain why Emma Stone has already gone back to her Gwen Stacy hair. She was seen last night at the Ninth Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards with her blond hair. Check out a photo from the event below!

Garfield also brought up the changes to the costume that director Marc Webb mentioned. Webb said the costume would feature 'Bigger Eyes' and 'Gnarly web shoorters,' but it seems there was another reason for the costume change than simply a new design. "The suit is undergoing a redesign because I couldn't urinate in it last time," Garfield said "So I'm less nervous 'cause that's gonna be nice."

Shailene Woodley is also attached to co-star in the May 2, 2014 release. Though it hasn't been officially confirmed, Jamie Foxx is expected to play Electro in the sequel. The Amazing Spider-Man is available now on DVD and Blu-ray.

Following reports earlier this month of Jamie Foxx joining the cast of Marc Webb's upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man sequel, The Hollywood Reporter brings word that casting is underway for the part of Harry Osborn, played in Sam Raimi's original trilogy by James Franco.

The trade's report indicates that casting for the part has shifted from a larger, athletic actor to someone "dark and edgy." Among those said to be up for the role are Brady Corbet (Martha Marcy May Marlene, Melancholia), Dane DeHaan (Chronicle, Lawless) and Alden Ehrenreich (Stoker, Beautiful Creatures).

Whoever is cast will join the returning Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone along with Shailene Woodley in the part of Mary Jane Watson.

After news broke earlier this month about Jamie Foxx potentially playing Electro in Marc Webb's 2014 sequel to this year's The Amazing Spider-Man, ComingSoon.net spoke with Webb and confirmed that Foxx is his top choice. Today, Access Hollywood spoke with the actor and learned that, while he's anticipating getting a shot at the role, the deal is still not quite locked.

“Fingers crossed it all works out,” Foxx says. "...I have a little daughter, four years old, and what’s crazy is like, this past year she had a birthday where Spider-Man was the theme... I haven’t sprung it on her yet, but she will go crazy!"

The character of Electro has never definitively appeared on the big screen, though some fan speculation has suggested that the mysterious figure (played by Michael Massee) featured in The Amazing Spider-Man's end credits was, in fact, our first look at the character. First appearing in 1964's "The Amazing Spider-Man" #9, Electro's real name is Max Dillon and he has the power to control electricity.

Also still being cast is the role of Harry Osborn, although some potential talent was named yesterday. Whoever ends up signing on will join Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Shailene Woodley are attached to star in the May 2, 2014 release. This time around, the script arrives from Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner and James Vanderbilt.

On the heels of last week's report that suggested three actors reading for the role of Harry Osborn in Marc Webb's upcoming sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man comes, also via The Hollywood Reporter, another four names said to be auditioning today. The new list includes Douglas Booth (Noah), Sam Claflin (Snow White and the Huntsman), Boyd Holbrook (The Host) and Eddie Redmayne (My Week with Marilyn).

The update seems to now contradict the trade's earlier notion that the role would have a "dark & edgy" bent to it and, instead, a charismatic and athletic Osborn is being sought.

Played by James Franco in Sam Raimi's original trilogy, Harry is the son of Spider-Man's arch-foe, Norman Osborn (aka the Green Goblin). In the comics, Harry assumes the Goblin mantle after his father's death.

Whoever is cast will join the returning Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone along with Shailene Woodley in the part of Mary Jane Watson.